A Date Guide to English Genealogy

Part I

Success in finding ancestors often comes from two things: knowing when certain types of records exist and knowing where to find these records. This multi-part article provides a reference timeline for English genealogy records.

Part I (this part) provides an introduction to English genealogy records and identifies available records to the end of the 1600s.

Introduction

This date guide to English genealogy has been prepared to help you trace your ancestors from England and Wales. Instead of following the traditional method of looking at types of genealogy records, this GenealogyInTime Magazine guide takes a different approach and looks at genealogy research from a chronological perspective. This more innovative approach has several advantages. In particular, a chronological perspective will help you:

• Identify when certain record sets first became available.

• Help clarify key turning points in your genealogical research.

• Gain a better understanding of the historical context of your ancestors.

• Provide a perspective on how certain events may have influenced the availability of ancestral records.

You can read this genealogy date guide from end-to-end to gain a better understanding of how to trace your English ancestors. You can also use this guide as a handy reference source when you hit a brickwall in your genealogy research. Either way, this guide is organized around a need to solve the problem of how to find your English ancestor.